Location · Northern Vietnam
Ha Long Bay
Sixteen hundred limestone islands, and about twenty five minutes of perfect light.
Sixteen hundred limestone islands, and about twenty five minutes of perfect light.
Two and a half hours from Hanoi, the land stops and sixteen hundred limestone islands begin. Photographed from a boat in the last hour of light, there is nothing else like it in the country.
From the shore, Ha Long is a view. From the water, it is a place: the islands stack behind each other, the light comes sideways across the bay, and the scale finally reads in a photograph. We work from a private boat so we can reach quiet water away from the tour routes and stay out until the sun has gone.
Timing is tight and we are honest about it. From the boat leaving the harbour to the light going is roughly twenty five minutes of truly good light. Everything is planned around that window.
March to April and October to November are the months. Clear air matters more here than anywhere else we work: in the winter haze the islands behind the first row simply disappear, and the picture loses the depth that makes it.
Leave Hanoi mid-morning, lunch near the harbour, hair and make-up done before we board, then on the water for the whole afternoon and the last light. Back in Hanoi by late evening. Couples who want both sunrise and sunset stay overnight on the bay, which we can arrange.
A Ha Long session is USD 1,480 for six hours. The boat and our travel are quoted with it, usually USD 150 to 250.
Yes, and it is the reason to come. We work from a private boat, which lets us reach quiet water away from the tour routes and stay out for the last light. The bay is a UNESCO site, so some areas have rules about where boats may stop, and we plan the route around them.
March to April and October to November. Winter is often grey with low visibility, which flattens the limestone completely, and the summer brings storms. The bay rewards clear air more than almost anywhere else we shoot.
About two and a half hours by road each way on the expressway. Most couples come for the day; some stay overnight on the bay, which gives you both sunset and sunrise on the water.
USD 1,480 for six hours, including hair and make-up, two gowns and one suit, 300 to 400 original files and 40 retouched photographs. The boat and the team's travel are quoted with it, usually USD 150 to 250.